References

Ontario Place is a multiple use entertainment and seasonal amusement park in Toronto, Ontario, and owned by the Crown in Right of Ontario. It is administered as an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Located on the shore of Lake Ontario, just south of Exhibition Place, it is approximately 4 km west of downtown Toronto. Opened on May 22, 1971, it consists of three artificially constructed, landscaped islands. Attractions are spread throughout the park, as well as walking trails and food and drink concessions. Traditionally targeted at a family audience, with emphasis on children's activities, the park has a seasonal operating schedule and is closed from October through April, with the exception of the Cinesphere IMAX theatre and private event space. Central to the complex is a public marina and a major concert theatre. Historically, Ontario Place, as a publicly subsidized provincial agency, aims to keep costs, especially for families, lower than comparable attractions.

History

Background Even as far back as the 1960s, Toronto was concerned about its waterfront being a 'people friendly' place. It had suffered through more than a century of intense industrialization which cut the city off from the lakefront. By the late 1960s, half a century of automobile-centric lakeside planning had made the Toronto waterfront an unappealing, heavily industrialized location, despite its obvious potential. Ontario Place was conceived to help to revitalize the waterfront, attract tourists to Toronto, and in part, appease the City, which was frustrated at the high level of government investment that flowed to rival Montreal for Expo 67. The park itself was originally conceived as an onshore exhibit, but this idea was discarded in favour of five large, architecturally unique, three-level Pods. Each Pod would be approximately 8,000 square feet (743 m²) in area, and suspended by steel cables from four large central pylons driven deep into the lake bed. These Pods would initially house various Ontario-themed exhibits in an aquatic setting somewhat similar in concept to Montreal's Expo 67 grounds (which were in the middle of the St. Lawrence River). However, a difficult but unexpectedly useful problem developed. The cost of the open-water Pod foundations alone (at the time, estimated at C$9 million) would consume almost the entire budget for the Pods' construction. Architect Eb Zeidler was faced with a dilemma: how to construct the Pods without the necessary budget. Zeidler developed an innovative solution: after a trip to the Caribbean, he realized that a " barrier reef" concept would cut down on wave action from the lake enough to reduce the cost of the Pods' foundation to 1/10th of the original open-water estimate. After some quarrels with the port authorities (due to the dangers of the unseen reef to shipping), the reef plan was modified to incorporate three artificial "barrier islands" made from city landfill. Ironically, the barrier islands were to be so well crafted, they became an integral part of the Ontario Place experience. The children's village was designed by Eric McMillan; the glass pagoda building was designed by Raymond Moriyama.

Construction The five steel and aluminum pavilion pods are eighty-eight-square feet in dimension. The pods are supported on four pipe columns, rising 105 above the lake. Tension cables support the short-span trusses. They sit on concrete filled caissons, driven 30 feet (9.1 m) into the lake's bedrock. Each of the pavilions is connected to one another and the land by glazed steel bridges. The Forum, an outdoor concert venue, was featured on a central hub-island, while a children's village would occupy an eastern island. A commercial section overlooked the water, with modular construction for shops and restaurants to the west. All would be connected by an intricately planned set of walkways and bridges. In addition, each island would have a unique colour scheme, and the entire complex was later infused with the brilliant colours and graphic design that were typical of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The open-air Forum theatre sat 3,000 and had additional grass 'seats'. The roof structure was a hyperbolic paraboloid positioned on cement bastions. It covered a 68-foot (21 m) revolving stage, giving near 360 degree sightlines. The roof was made out of tongue and groove plywood, covered by copper sheathing. The sophistication of the original barrier island layout should be noted. Architect Michael Hough overlaid a scale model of the University of Toronto's excellent walking paths onto the Ontario Place plans to check for appropriate walking distances. This ensured that comfortable rest areas were placed appropriately, so that children and the elderly would not need to walk too far without a comfortable seat. Soon after opening in 1971, a rubber-wheeled tractor train was used to take visitors between key points on the various islands, though this has long since been discontinued. Prevailing wind and wave conditions were also considered in the design, a scale model of which was tested in the University of Toronto's wind tunnel. Large earthwork berms planted with tall native Ontario trees were created to shelter walkways from the prevailing southwesterly winds. To the south, a cost-effective and theme-congruent plan to sink three large obsolete Great Lakes shipping vessels was implemented, which sheltered the artificial harbour from intense open-lake waves. (The same technique would later be used on Toronto Island and the Outer Harbour.) The first phase of construction was the sinking of the ships onto a stone bed, then covered in concrete forming a 1500' breakwater. Once the perimeter was finished, work began on the 50 acres (200,000 m 2) of the three artificial islands. There was originally some controversy about allowing a public facility to house an upscale boating dock within the new artificial harbour. However, supporters of the plan believed that the dock's integration into Ontario Place would tie the location closer to the lake via boating activity, and improve the general ambiance. The Cinesphere is an 800 seat 70 mm IMAX theatre - the world's first permanent IMAX installation. The building is inside a 'spherical triodetic dome', with a 61' outer radius, and a 56' inner radius. The dome is supported by prefabricated steel aluminum alloy tubes. Ontario Place was designed to have a modular use and appearance. Zeidler says that the structures were designed to "give an illusion of dimensionless space, exploiting technology to shape the society of tomorrow." (quote from pg. 159 of Modern Canadian Architecture ISBN 0-88830-248-7)

Promotion To commemorate the opening of the theme park and promote the province of Ontario, a multi-media exhibition was created and presented inside the pavilion. Dolores Claman wrote the music and Richard Morris wrote lyrics for the music to this presentation, entitled "Theme from Ontario Place". "Theme from Ontario Place" was subsequently released by the Ontario Department of Trade and Development as a double sided 45 manufactured by Quality Records (OP1971), side A containing a "Pop" version and Side B an "Easy Listening" recording. A photo of the still under construction Ontario Place was used on the cover.

Changes over time The original park has been considerably altered since its inception. The popular outdoor concert stage, The Forum, was torn down in the mid-1990s and replaced with the Molson Amphitheatre, a much larger facility based on a bandshell design. A boat-based water ride was added to the extreme western end of the island, along with a smaller exhibition center consisting of three concrete silo-like buildings connected by overhead walkways, and a smaller domed movie theatre. A large reflecting pool nearby was drained and used to house the addition of a major "climber" structure, a smaller stage for kids shows and several other kid-oriented attractions, reducing the complete separation of areas that had been featured in the original design. The original children's area, which was primarily "non-powered", has largely been removed. The large wood-and-rope climber area was replaced with a large waterpark and several small fair-ground rides were later added. The large tension structure tent that covered most of the children's park was removed in 2009/10, leaving a large open area with a new stage. Many of the concrete bollards used to secure the various tents and structures can still be seen.

Redevelopment In the summer of 2010, the provincial government issued a Request for Information calling for ideas from private bidders to complete redevelop the park. Ontario Place general manager Tim Casey told the Toronto Star that "2011 will be our 40th anniversary. It definitely needs a revitalization, that’s no surprise. It’s a blank slate, we’re open to just about anything.” The deadline for ideas to be made is September 10, 2010 with a formal Request for Proposals to be made in the fall and the winning proposal to be chosen by the summer of 2011. The government intends to transform the park from a largely seasonal facility to a year-round attraction. Redevelopment may include tearing down the Cinesphere as well as other long standing attractions.

Current attractions Ontario Place has rides and attractions, including the world's first permanent IMAX movie theatre: the Cinesphere .

The Cinesphere is a geodesic dome-shaped structure which contains the theatre. It is similar in style to 'Spaceship Earth' at Epcot in Orlando Florida, except the latter is a complete sphere.

The Molson Amphitheatre is a large open-air venue for larger-scale music concerts. Major acts like Judas Priest, R.E.M., Phish, Dave Matthews Band, Blue Rodeo, Coldplay, Jack Johnson and the Tragically Hip have all been featured in summer concerts at the site. Bryan Adams opened the facility in May 1995.

East Island - Market Square

Power Wheels

Cyclone

Mini Bumper Boats

First Flight

Free Fall

Mini Greens

Power Wheels Track

Super Slide

Treehouse Live! Stage

East Island - Soak City

Water park with various slides and play area

Waterplay

Purple Pipeline

Pink Twister

Hydrofuge

Rush River

Centre Island - Marina Village

Cinesphere

Atlantis - Restaurant/Club

OP Driving School

Bumper Boats

Cool Hoops

Marina with Lake Ontario access

West Island - GO Zone

Bob's Boat Yard (Pedal Boats)

H20 Generation Station - The largest outdoor climbing structure in Canada

Atom Blaster

Waterfall Showplace

Microkids

West Island - Adventure Island

Wilderness Adventure Ride - Log ride

Wild World of Weather (introduced in 2009)

F/X Theatre

Gemstone Mining

Former attractions and venues

HMCS Haida (G63) is a decommissioned Second World War destroyer that was open to the public. In the early 1960s, the ship was going to be scrapped, but volunteers raised enough money to have it saved and towed to Toronto. It opened as an attraction in August 1965 at the pier on York Street. The city had planned to build a 'Serviceman's Memorial Park' near Prince's Gates at Exhibition Place. When the organization 'Haida Inc.' ran into financial problems, the ship was taken over by the Province of Ontario and moved in 1970 to the Ontario Place site, where it was turned into an attraction. It was also used as a Sea Cadet training camp. In 2002 it was bought by Parks Canada and taken to a new home in Hamilton, Ontario for some much needed restoration and incorporated into a new marine museum in that city.

The Forum was an outdoor concert venue that was an architectural landmark torn down to make way for the Molson Amphitheatre: it featured covered seating under a unique tent-like, metal framed, solid roof, with extra seating on the open surrounding, grassy hills. While having only half the seating capacity of the current Amphitheatre, it had (arguably) better sound, bench seating, and offered a far more intimate theatre-in-the-round experience; featuring a rotating stage which gave every seat in the house, in turn, an excellent view. It also had the benefit of being generally free with park admission. Featured events included an annual Toronto Symphony rendition of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, complete with the firing of the guns from the nearby HMCS Haida, and often performances by well established acts, such as BB King, Glen Campbell, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash, Dizzy Gillespie, Pat Metheny and Canadian acts like Lighthouse, Bruce Cockburn, The Nylons, Luba, Men Without Hats, Doug and the Slugs, Parachute Club and Red Rider. Unfortunately, due to a riot by Teenage Head fans in 1981 (purportedly instigated by their manager, who allegedly was interested in the publicity) harder rock acts were thereafter banned from the venue. In summer of 1983, The forum was ahead of the curve by bringing in acts like Paul Young and the Royal Family and Tina Turner just before her huge comeback the following year. However, perhaps the greatest loss with the passing of The Forum is a sense of an integrated experience with the rest of Ontario Place; since it was centrally located to function as a kind of musical pass-through walking hub for the rest of the facility and the concert was usually included as part of the inexpensive admission.

Future Pod opened in 1982 in Pod 5, featuring displays and exhibits in technology, communications and energy, including a full-sized replica of the Canada Arm.

The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum originally opened in Ontario Place before moving to its permanent home in St. Marys.

Ontario North Now made up the bulk of the west island, including the wilderness adventure ride, a simulated mine, and Muskeg Pete's Main Street.

Location and access Ontario Place has vehicle access to Lake Shore Boulevard and the Gardiner Expressway. It is adjacent to the south of Exhibition Place where connections to TTC and GO Transit services are provided.